I recently was at an event where hundreds of school children were each given a balloon to release. As they drifted up into the sky the crowd clapped and everyone ooh’d and aah’d and told each other how wonderful a moment this was. My heart sank. I stood there wondering how much damage these balloons would cause to the environment. I refused to applaud such irresponsibility.
A couple of days later I received a link on twitter which showed pictures of the most polluted place on Earth. Among that list was the North Pacific Gyre, where a garbage island has gathered as a result of natural wind and water movement. The island is building, but it isn’t a perfect desert island, it’s a grotesque opposite causing the death of wildlife and the destruction of the ecological balance in the area. This is how ‘wonderful’ our actions are.
I wonder if there are labels from balloons somewhere in there. I wonder if they can be read at all. I wonder how the people on those labels would react if they were taken there and realised that we have all played a part in this. That carrier bag that you just couldn’t catch as it blew away, the condom you flushed, the lilo that burst and you allowed to float away and yes, even that balloon you released in the 70’s as a child (and yes, that includes me).
Between us we can do something about it. We can stop adding to it, we can volunteer to collect other people’s rubbish, we can support campaigns to change attitudes. It would take hours and money to remove what’s there, even then, where on Earth would we put it? I would love to think that Governments would unite to address such a problem but that would take a miracle.
Meanwhile, if I can just ask you to think. Have a look at these links. Let them seep into your mind and hopefully you’ll remember to refuse that carrier bag, hang on to your litter and refuse to support the next balloon release you come across.
Article on Environmental Graffiti.com about the North Pacific Gyre
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/north-pacific-gyre-million-tons-garbage-growing/14477
Marine Conservation Society (MCS) – Dont Let Go Campaign – action against balloon release
http://www.mcsuk.org/mcsaction/pollution/b alloons
UK Rivers network includes text of MCS leaflet
http://www.ukrivers.net/balloon_fact.html
Herts Canoe Club – Litter Pickers Extraordinaire!